Posts tagged Ankles
Barefoot Training, Anyone?
Sep 30th
Barefoot Training Suggestions
Training barefoot is a great practice and is entirely up to you.? It is not recommended that you jump into this type of training too hard and start running your streets with no shoes.? I would recommend proceeding with caution.? Try going barefoot in safe areas, like your own home, and then progress to the gym.? I started out living barefoot in my home?at all times, and in other situations when?appropriate.? Weight training and running routines are activities that I try to complete barefoot as well.? The important thing to remember is balance.? You don’t have to do this all the time; in fact it is not always safe! ?Use common sense and you will be fine.?
Why Have I Included Barefoot Sessions In My Training?
I have had two major ankle sprains on the same ankle in the past?3 years.? Since I am a physical education teacher and want to make sure?that I will have strong ankles for a long time I took an aggressive approach when rehabilitating my ankle.? All of the physiotherapy and strengthening exercises were completed?barefoot, as prescribed by my physiotherapist. ??My left ankle became so strong after the rehab that I felt more comfortable performing one footed jumps on the injured foot, than on the healthy foot.? Having experienced the increased stability of my ankle, I figured the barefoot approach can work well in regular training as well.?
Current research has supported my personal?experience and I will continue to advocate barefoot training.
Here are a couple exercises that I?tried when going barefoot for the first time:
body weight squatswall sitskipping (was a bit difficult at first)any upper body free weight exerciserunning on a grass field (after it was inspected for dangerous objects of course)
Barefoot culture is growing, but don’t think you have to be?too hard-core?to reap the rewards.? It’s only extreme if you want it to be.? Remember that barefoot training can complement?any training program, just be sure to start out easy and use common sense!
Pain – How to Look Past the Shadows on the Wall
Sep 25th
Pain is the primary driver for everything that we do (or don’t do).
It determines what we think about. What we believe is possible.
The problem with pain is that a lot of the time, it isn’t anything physical.
It’s a process that changes over time.
We stop twisting ankles, breaking bones, and getting bloody noses. Right?
We move from the playground to the battleground. From the swing-set to the headset.
Where we scar our minds instead of our knees…
It’s mental. Not muscle.
And while it looks like as a whole we are eliminating pain from our lives, nothing could be farther from the truth. We’re just better at hiding it from others.
We’re experts at appearing like “everything is alright”. In fact, we might be able to even hide it from ourselves if it weren’t for the shadows on the wall.
The problem with mental pain is that the scars run deep.
Betrayal. Loss. Abandonment.
The pain is gripping and intense. And it doesn’t go away for awhile.
It’s trauma in every imaginable sense of the word. So much so that we will do just about anything to avoid going through that experience again.
But just about the time you start to heal, just about the time the sting starts to go away, you see the shadows.
On the wall you see the scary outline of past pain. And you start to relive your fears and doubts.
Your breathe comes a little faster and your heart starts to beat a little quicker. All of your senses tell you that you are about to get hurt.
And that fear drives you to run. To stop being a high performer.
But there might be more to the situation if you look past the shadows. Maybe the shadows don’t tell the right story.
Maybe what you think is past fear and failure is really just a mechanical pencil wedged between a pizza box and the edge of the couch.
Maybe it’s nothing more than your brain playing tricks on you. Maybe the harder you look, the less you find to fear.
Maybe you look past the shadows and realize that:
Fear drives us to run while courage helps us to heal.
We all have pain. We all see the shadows.
It could be losing that big deal, working to get that next promotion, or fighting through past failures…
Just remember to look past the shadows.
